That closing line is a killer.....

Darwin originally (long before he wrote about origins) planned to study for the ministry. Fortunately for us, he was distracted by science.

From your article: "In the meantime, what's the real national embarrassment? The fact that Pat Robertson has threatened the citizens of Dover with divine retribution, or that so-called limited government conservatives got into bed with the religious right in the first place?"

I have looked all over Salon's site for the cartoon that goes with this statement. Where is it? It should be pretty funny.

While the citizens of Dover, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez remain defiant before Pat Robertson's God of Vengeance, fundamentalist survivors of the Manichean battle between science and superstition are facing a dilemma of Darwinian proportions. Is it OK to eat your own, in order to survive and reproduce?

For decades the Roman church has embraced the neo-Darwinian synthesis of molecular genetics, mutations, natural selection, and changes to species over time. They already "came to their senses" and the Vatican is a worthy ally in favor of good science education in the US.

I'm willing to bet that if the good citizens of Dover had failed in the recent election to boot the intelligent designers on their schoolboard we wouldn't now be hearing faint pious acclamation for science from the likes of George Will and Charles Krauthammer.

Hot air rises, doesn't it?

I believe in God and I also believe in evolution. I believe that those who use God's name to threaten others with whom they do not agree are guilty of blasphemy. I sincerely hope that those who kill in the name of God (whatever name they use) or use their religion (whatever it may be)to justify an unjust war end up in the lowest circle of hell for using His name to justify their evil. I also think Pat Robertson should be evaluated for megalomania. If you REALLY HEAR God talking to you, perhaps your fillings are picking up a local radio station--or you need to adjust your medication.